Plains Zebra (Equus quagga)

node · earth · Serengeti–Mara ecosystem

A hindgut-fermenting equid that co-migrates with the wildebeest; TAWIRI aerial census work has put the migratory Serengeti zebra population at roughly 200,000. Because zebra can process bulk low-quality grass that ruminants cannot, classical theory placed them at the front of the grazing succession, cropping tall stems and exposing better forage behind them. GPS-collar and dietary work published in Science in 2024 found the reality is a push–pull: competition for food nudges zebra ahead of wildebeest, and the two species travel closer together than the classic model predicted.